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[Guest]

(The actual question) As someone who has a disease very similar to cardiac arrhythmia, I'm also on a bunch of medications. Were you aware that one of the most common medications for heart conditions like arrhythmia is actually Viagra?

Yeah. We have a registered nurse on the development team (Silentcook), who's helped us a lot with getting our medical facts straight. That isn't to say the lines aren't slightly blurred though as narrative requires.

Well, props to Silentcook then. I was pleasantly surprised how medically accurate the game was over all.

[Talifan9]

Both the music and artwork in this game is some of the most beautiful I have ever experienced. How did the creators get the inspiration to make them? It is easy to see that a lot of effort was put into the entire game, and I want to thank you again

[Guest]

Was the imagery in Hanako's ending CG intentional, i.e hiding her scars, show her intiating the kiss in public with a smile while people are watching?
A way of saying that she's finally happy?

Also, is a wallpaper version of that CG and the Lilly field confessional scene available?

[Aura]

Did any of the writers go out of their way to subvert expectations? Not to troll, but to give a non-clichéd experience?

As a sort of reverse copy of this question, paired with the... excentric nature of some writers: have any of you ever resorted to writing over-the-top Broujo-esque sidestories to alleviate stress and writer's blocks in the hard moments of development, without the intent of putting it to serious use?

By the way, thanks for answering my previous question. I hope this one's not worded too ridiculous.

Well I don't know what you expect, but you can find some offbeat writings of the staff on the fanfic forum.

[Suriko]

I noticed a few "alice in wonderland" or "through the looking glass" references. Are any of the writers fans of the works? Just plain curiosity

We all have our own favourite literary works.

Relevant: http://katawa-shoujo.com/influencechart.jpg

[Suriko]

I would first like to thank the KS development team for their interaction with us fans. I truly appreciate the chance to ask questions directly to the developers. My question is directed primarily towards Suriko, as it specifically regards Lilly's path, though I'm sure those involved with path direction may also hold answers.

How did Lilly's character develop from the limited description Raita provided on the original sketch into the one present in the full release? I would be fascinated to learn what ideas and sources, literary or otherwise, inspired the development of Lilly's character, her actions throughout the story, and her relationship with Hisao. The blog post from last February mentioned that early written concepts formed the basis of her reserved, motherly personality, but I am highly interested in what thought processes crafted her characterization between the early drafts and the final release.

I'd suggest poking around a bit on the old forums, located here: http://z8.invisionfree.com/Zettai_Shojo ... howforum=9

They were the very genesis of the project following the sticky, and a number of the oldest ideas that got included in the final game originate from there.

Lilly's motherly personality was something I thought of the moment I saw her character design on the original omake page. I'm still not really sure why I got so attached to that personality idea so quickly, but regardless, it stuck. She draws off a fair few influences, from books, movies, anime, and various aspects of real people I knew.

It should also be noted that every path was a big team effort - every path was subject to a massive amount of quite harsh criticism by other developers, and that has heavily shaped every piece of writing in the game.

[Byne]

Do all of the path writers feel like they've finished the stories of their characters?

I for one would love to read even just a short story or something for each of the girls set a few years after graduation to see what has happened with them.

[mildwonkey]

A couple of questions:

1) I'm going on a limb, and assume that some devs were in attendance at Comiket.

After reading some of the press, post-release, I'm kind of curious about your table at C81. It seems there's been a very strong, and sometimes mixed, emotion emanating from the Japanese, overall, in their opinions of KS. Were there any notable reactions 'live-and-in-person' to the game, in particular the name, or public praise/scolding given over the content? Was the table active, or did attendees go out of their way to avoid it?

2) As devs, I assume that you are planning to, or already, have professions in the field of computer programming, etc. Is KS something that you plan to include on your personal resumes moving forward through your careers given is does have legit dev/coding merit, or is this something you will simply keep on your personal trophy shelf (perhaps on account of its content)?

Thanks for all of the hard work! Loving the game so far (Finished Emi and Shizune... scared to approach the Rin path...only so many tears in a day).

[Aura]

Do all of the path writers feel like they've finished the stories of their characters?

I for one would love to read even just a short story or something for each of the girls set a few years after graduation to see what has happened with them.

There's stuff like that on the fanfic forum. For example: http://ks.renai.us/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1151

[Aura]

A couple of questions:

1) I'm going on a limb, and assume that some devs were in attendance at Comiket.

After reading some of the press, post-release, I'm kind of curious about your table at C81. It seems there's been a very strong, and sometimes mixed, emotion emanating from the Japanese, overall, in their opinions of KS. Were there any notable reactions 'live-and-in-person' to the game, in particular the name, or public praise/scolding given over the content? Was the table active, or did attendees go out of their way to avoid it?

2) As devs, I assume that you are planning to, or already, have professions in the field of computer programming, etc. Is KS something that you plan to include on your personal resumes moving forward through your careers given is does have legit dev/coding merit, or is this something you will simply keep on your personal trophy shelf (perhaps on account of its content)?

Thanks for all of the hard work! Loving the game so far (Finished Emi and Shizune... scared to approach the Rin path...only so many tears in a day).

You assume too much. None of 4LS was at C80 or C81. You can read some of the convention reports from the people who did handle them however, on the blog. Further, many of us pursue careers in completely different fields than what we do or did for KS. I doubt the ones who do something related will put KS on the resumes, but I suppose you never know. There's a precedent though, I remember one artist using a couple KS CGs in her university application portfolio. So, I guess you have that.

[Suriko]

A couple of questions:

1) I'm going on a limb, and assume that some devs were in attendance at Comiket.

After reading some of the press, post-release, I'm kind of curious about your table at C81. It seems there's been a very strong, and sometimes mixed, emotion emanating from the Japanese, overall, in their opinions of KS. Were there any notable reactions 'live-and-in-person' to the game, in particular the name, or public praise/scolding given over the content? Was the table active, or did attendees go out of their way to avoid it?

2) As devs, I assume that you are planning to, or already, have professions in the field of computer programming, etc. Is KS something that you plan to include on your personal resumes moving forward through your careers given is does have legit dev/coding merit, or is this something you will simply keep on your personal trophy shelf (perhaps on account of its content)?

Thanks for all of the hard work! Loving the game so far (Finished Emi and Shizune... scared to approach the Rin path...only so many tears in a day).

Both are wrong assumptions. The Comiket appearances are entirely handled by the Japanese translation team (who are totally awesome, and did a whole lot of hard work that we're very thankful for), and we weren't present at them.

No developers are professional programmers. That aside, none of us (at least as far as I'm aware) will be putting KS on our resumes. The content bars that.

[SteelyDance]

With the amount of fanfic on this site, would the devs ever sit around and laugh at how close or far some fan-writers were to the actual story?

Also, regarding fanfic again, do the devs dislike the idea of someone else writing a completely different story about a character they worked 5 years on? Personally, I would feel a little outraged. Plagiarism is a horrible thing.

[Suriko]

With the amount of fanfic on this site, would the devs ever sit around and laugh at how close or far some fan-writers were to the actual story?

Also, regarding fanfic again, do the devs dislike the idea of someone else writing a completely different story about a character they worked 5 years on? Personally, I would feel a little outraged. Plagiarism is a horrible thing.

I don't read the fanfiction forum much. Can't speak for the other devs.

We're fine with fanfics in general. As long as they don't pretend to be official, people can go nuts.

[Yo-yo]

Ever had a really awkward experience trying to explain the game to someone who found out about you were working on it?

[Silentcook]

I'm curious if I could at least get reply from one of you on this question:
Now that the game is out and the group is splitting up, would any of you as individuals consider joining another group of people to make another game? Which is to say, does anyone think they have plans to work on another game in the future with the skills they've acquired working on this one?

My alias is (supposedly) going to be in the credits of a VN that's (supposedly) going to get distributed sometime next month, so take this as you will.

Unrelated: Are we free to use the characters/setting in our own media? Given that this is a first for the internet in general, I could easily see people taking on what you left off.

Not really. The license is specifically against that. We don't mind fanworks such as fanart or fics, but if someone came to us saying "I want to do a sequel/prequel/alternate timeline VN to Katawa Shoujo", I'd say our answer would be "no".